Brick-shaped packaging containers for holding liquid food products such as milk, carbonated drinks and the like are provided with a cap body that is adapted to be opened and closed as required so that the liquid food product can be repeatedly poured out and dispensed from the container. In these types of containers, the cap body is usually applied to the top portion of the packaging container by a hot melt process, a heat sealing process, an ultrasonic sealing process or other similar techniques.
In the case of the hot melt process, glue in a liquid state is ejected from a hot melt gun nozzle onto the portion of the packaging container where the cap body is to be applied. When the cap body is then applied to the container, the cap body is glued in place on the packaging container.
With the heat sealing process, hot air is blown onto the portion of the packaging container where the cap body is to be applied to melt the surface film of the packaging container. The cap body is then applied to the melted film where it becomes fixed in place.
With the ultrasonic seal process, ultrasonic waves are applied to the cap body while pressing the cap body against the portion of the packaging container where the cap body is to be applied. As a result, the surface film of the packaging container is melted and the cap body is secured to packaging container.
However, the conventional processes discussed above suffer from various disadvantages and drawbacks. With the hot melt process, it is difficult to apply the glue accurately and uniformly to the portion of the packaging container where the cap body is to be applied. As a result, it is difficult to apply the cap body to the packaging container in a manner that provides sufficient strength.
In the case of the heat sealing process, because the surface film of the packaging container is melted by blowing hot air on the portion of the packaging container where the cap body is to be applied, building up the hot air temperature takes a significant amount of time. Moreover, melting the film also requires a considerable amount of time. As a result, the processing speed with this process is rather slow.
With the ultrasonic sealing process, since the surface film of the packaging container is melted by ultrasonic waves, an ultrasonic wave apparatus is required. As a result, the cap body applying apparatus is quite expensive. Also, the melting of the film takes a significant amount of time. As a result, the speed associated with this process is also quite slow.
In light of the foregoing, a need exists for an improved cap body applying apparatus that is capable of applying the cap body to the packaging container in a relatively simple manner, with a high processing speed, and while maintaining sufficient strength at the cap body/packaging container interface.